The Conclave Of Richmond Pipe Smokers, C.O.R.P.S. (pronounced “CORE” like the Marine Corps), is a non-profit organization, founded for its members and the public to learn about and enjoy the Ancient & Honorable Art & Sport of Pipe Smoking; and to educate and communicate all positive aspects thereof. We also, as much as possible, support Richmond area children’s charities with funds beyond our operating expenses. Membership is open to any person or organization interested in any aspect of the Art & Sport. A dues or sponsorship payment is required (currently $25 per year for individuals).
We meet monthly in a social meeting, with some limited business, to enjoy one another’s company for dinner, drink and sharing our love of pipes and tobaccos. The meetings are usually held on the third Tuesday of the month, but the day, time and location will vary. See below for the location of the next meeting. An irregular e-newsletter is issued, which provides meeting info, hobby happenings, literature, art and the like.
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS…up and coming…
February meeting – POSTPONED TO LEAP DAY 2/29 – DUE TO SNOW IN RICHMOND – MONDAY, February 29, 2016: Chester Junction Grill & Bar
The rescheduled FEB meeting will be MONDAY, 2/29, LEAP DAY….(yes…that once every four years day DESERVES to be recognized by pipe smoke…since Sadie Hawkins Day is no longer celebrated)…so plan accordingly. We will strike deep into our previously designated target area on FEBRUARY 29th. approx. 6pm…Iffn the Storm Gods smile upon us. CHESTER JUNCTION GRILL & BAR, per below…
DETAILS…
February meeting – MONDAY, February 29, 2016: Chester Junction Grill & Bar
We are hitting a new place that some of our members found and it is supposed to be a pretty decent place, (its gotten good reviews on Yelp.com) and they will allow us to enjoy our pipes, as well as their full menu and brews. It is SOUTH of Richmond, in Chester, VA…specifically the Chester Junction Grill & Bar, 11929 Centre Street, Chester VA 23831. Centre Street is off of Rt. 10, about 2 miles from the I-95 Route 10 exit, to the west of I-95. On other nights the place is a dart haven and a karaoke place, with live music on various nights, so now they are adding Pipe Smoking on Monday…just for us. So…come on down and help us break in the place. Check them out at…https://www.facebook.com/chesterjunction
AND…
Our dedicated team of intelligence operatives have discovered that the OLD VIRGINIA TOBACCO COMPANY is hosting its ELEVENTH ANNUAL PETERSON PIPE EVENT on THURSDAY, 3/10 at their Richmond store, 3532 West Cary Street, Richmond VA 23221 (804) 353-4675…and…the CORPS will be attending and making this an impromptu CORP meeting. All members & friends are encouraged to show up and essentially take over the retail space, enjoy the event, maybe purchase some stuff, and smoke to our hearts content. PLEASE feel free to join us as…honestly…we LIKE showing OVTC that as a PIPE SMOKING group…we ARE not going quietly into the night. So….synchronize your watches and bring your gear.
Peterson Pipe Tour Begins
in Richmond
Thursday, March 10th through Monday March 14th
With a Special Kickoff Event on the 10th! 4:00-7:00
Our 11th Annual Peterson Pipe Show starts in Richmond! The premier pipe-maker coming out of Ireland, Peterson has been around since 1865!
The CORPS
(Conclave Of Richmond Pipe Smokers).
It’s TIME to RENEW your membership…we ask for YOUR continued support
All of our annual memberships run from October through September of each year, so it’s that time of the year in which we solicit your continuing support. BIG NEWS is…we LOWERED the annual dues to $15!! (That’s less than 3 lattes at your custom coffee shop). Yes! In a time when the cost of everything just seems to keep going up and up, WE are LOWERING our annual dues from $25 to $15.
An email has been sent to the internet addresses of all current members regarding renewal with an attached Membership Renewal Form. IF you did not receive yours, then the internet address we have on file for you has either changed or doesn’t work.
There is also a link on the “Membership” Page of this website, (link at header, top right), via which you can renew and pay via PayPal.
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April 8 & 9, 2015 = NC Triangle Area Pipe Smokers announce their Expo…
Dear Friends of TAPS,
I am delighted to announce the 19th annual Triangle Area Pipe Smokers Expo on April 8th and 9th, 2016. Still a one day expo on the 9th, there are several changes this year which we hope will address suggestions from our vendors, attendees, and members.
A letter describing this year’s events, and a show registration form can be found, and downloaded, from this site: http://www.tapsclub.us/page1/taps_2016_vendor_show_registration.pdf
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. We very much look forward to seeing each and every one of you at the show.
Robert Henard
Treasurer
Expo Vendor Coordinator
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WE ENJOYED SAMPLES OF SOME RESURRECTED OLD ENGLISH BLENDS FROM DAYS OF YORE - October 20th. 6p – Legends Brewery
Some of us were privileged to enjoy a myriad of resurrected tobacco blends from England/ UK from the ‘60’s thru the ‘80’s, at our October meeting of the Conclave Of Richmond Pipe Smokers
The three John Cotton, Bengal Slices and Warhorse blends are being resurrected by the Standard Tobacco Co. of Pennsylvania! Blender Russ Ouellette of Pipes and Cigars, in conjunction with Meier & Dutch, has begun the exciting work of recreating several vintage British pipe tobacco brands, including three from the revered John Cotton’s line. In a licensing agreement with The Standard Tobacco Company of Pennsylvania, Meier & Dutch will have exclusive rights to produce and market pipe tobacco under the John Cotton’s, Bengal Slices and Warhorse marks.
Mr. Dan Johnson, of Standard Tobacco Co., sent the Conclave their entire range of these revered blends to sample! and most of us partook of the various samples throughout the evening and then gave our 2-cents worth of opinion to each other. Actually a quite enjoyable event. For some of us, it was an introduction to a totally different type of tobacco.
Armed with a these five blends, we enjoyed the usual hospitality of Legend Brewery, 321 West 7th Street Richmond, VA 23224 on Tuesday, 20 October 2015!
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Road Trip to Boswell’s Pipe Shop, Chambersburg, PA – We BOUGHT stuff & had a GREAT time
On Saturday, August 8, 2015, four enthusiastic members of our Richmond pipe club, the CORPS, met at 7:00 a.m. for a road trip to J. M. Boswell’s Pipe Shop in Chambersburg, PA. The trip is long, three and a half hours each way, but well worth it.
As always, we were greeted and welcomed by everyone there. This is an old style store with its primary feature being, it is a pipe shop that sells cigars rather than a cigar store which sells pipes, as many are today. The other significant feature is that the only new pipes sold there are Boswell pipes. But, once you own and smoke one of those, why buy anything else? There are a few estate pipes for sale, all the pipe and cigar accessories which you need, and a great selection of pipe tobaccos. Tinned tobaccos include almost all of the McClelland’s blends, Dunhill, Peterson, Rattray’s, Samuel Gawith, about 28 Boswell blends and several other brands.
Finalizing plans for our CORPS pipe of the year was accomplished with J. M. disappearing for a short while and returning with a prototype. We suggested a few modifications and he returned again with what promises to be a great finished product. If you don’t have a Boswell pipe, and are a dues paying member of the CORPS, this year will be your chance to experience pipe smoking excellence. You can be the owner of one of the best ‘made in the USA’ pipes available.
We all had a relaxing smoke with samples of Boswell blends in our pipes while we admired the craftsmanship of J. M.’s pipe designs and the quality of the briar used to make them. Standard shapes and artistic variations were all impressive. For you Civil War fans, he has a great mini-ball pipe design. If you have seen his pipes online, they are much more impressive to hold and study up close.
While there, I inquired about repairs to three of my pipes, none of which were Boswells. One had a cracked shank, one a missing ferrule and one a military mount which was just too loose. Another member inquired about having a churchwarden stem made for one of his Boswell pipes. Expecting them to be returned in a week or two, they were repaired and ready for us when we returned from lunch. What a great job he did on each of these! Very impressive workmanship and service! Naturally we stayed, smoked and toured his upstairs museum. We all checked out with our purchases and repairs as he closed the store at 4:00 p.m.
Being a young and enthusiastic group, we stopped in Winchester, VA, (it is on the way) and visited Matt Hayes’ store. He is open till 9 on Saturday. Matt had gone home by the time we got there, but those who had not been there before, got a chance to visit and make a few purchases there also. Our next stop was for gas, snacks and coffee. While there, we happened upon a car show at the local Roy Rogers restaurant parking lot. Lots of “cool” cars from our younger days were displayed. Finally, we returned home with all of our new tobaccos, new and repaired pipes, pipe racks, and other accessories along with the memories of another great pipe smoking adventure. LIFE IS GOOD FOR CORPS PIPE SMOKERS!
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